Third-ranked New Hampshire rallied behind hat tricks from centers Grayson Downing and Kevin Goumas and shocked No. 2 Denver 6-4 before a crowd of 5,432 that watched the Pioneers blow a 3-0 lead.

The Wildcats entered the weekend with an NCAA-leading defense (1.41 goals-against average) and the Pioneers were first in offense (4.50).

Downing produced UNH's first three goals and Goumas scored at 1:19, 13:24 and 19:38 of the third period, the latter on an empty net. The Pioneers (9-3) seemed well on their way to joining No. 1 Boston College as the only teams to reach 10 victories, but instead lost their second straight.

DU bowed to Yale 2-1 in overtime Friday night, when New Hampshire blew a 4-0 lead at Colorado College and tied the Tigers 4-4. This time, the Wildcats stormed back to improve to 9-1-2, outscoring DU 4-0 in the third period.

"Our puck management was as bad as it has been all year long; how reckless we were," DU coach George Gwozdecky said. "I'm shaking my head and looking at some of the plays we made with the puck. Anytime you give the puck away, you give it away, you don't manage it properly, it's going to be difficult. And if you do it against a good, quality team like New Hampshire, they're going to make you pay. And they made us pay in a big way."

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New Hampshire roared back in the second period, getting two goals from Downing to climb within 3-2. But the Pioneers regained a two-goal advantage midway through the frame, when sophomore forward Ty Loney scored his first goal in 11 games — since scoring DU's first goal of the season in the Oct. 19 opener against Massachusetts-Lowell.

Loney collected his own rebound at the bottom of the right circle, after everyone else on the ice thought the puck went in the opposite corner. Loney wristed the puck inside the near post when backup goalie Jeff Wyer was hugging the far post.

The Wildcats got within 4-3 just 1:19 into the third period on Downing's breakaway, lifting a backhander over junior goalie Sam Brittain.

Freshman Gabe Levin got things going for the Pioneers, putting a bank shot off sophomore goalie Casey DeSmith. Perhaps Levin was attempting a centering pass, but from behind the net, he fired the puck off the back of DeSmith's leg, and it caromed in for a 1-0 lead 5:18 into the game.

Lockheed says object part of 'sensor technology' testing that ended ThursdayWhat the heck is that thing? It's fair to assume that question was on the minds of many people who traveled along Colo. 128 south of Boulder this week if they happened to catch a glimpse of what appeared to be a large, silver projectile perched alongside the highway and pointed north toward town.

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